Pokémon Legends: Arceus Revealed, Is An Open-World RPG

The Pokémon series is about to undergo a major evolution with the newly announced spin-off title, Pokémon Legends: Arceus. This new game is an open-world action RPG and it’ll be coming to the Switch early next year.

Set in the distant past of the Sinnoh region from Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, Pokémon Legends: Arceus is a big change to the classic formula. Described as an “experience infused with new action and RPG elements that go beyond the framework established thus far, while honoring the core gameplay of past Pokémon titles,” it looks to be everything that fans of the series have wanted for years.

As with all Pokémon games, you first choose your starter Pokémon, with the choices this time being Rowlet, Cyndaquil, and Oshawott. From there, you have a main town hub that you’ll travel from to explore a vast world where Pokémon roam around as they please with the goal of creating the region’s first Pokédex.

This new change that Legends brings to the gameplay allows seamless interaction with the Pokémon in the world. If you want to catch a wild Pokémon, you can sneak up on them and watch their movements before tossing your Pokéball to catch them, all without going into an actual battle. When you do want to fight though, simply tossing out your Pokémon near a wild one will start a fight right in the open world.

Pokémon fans have been asking for a game like this from the franchise for a very long time. It appeared as if Pokémon Sword and Shield would be the ones to take the series to the next level when they were first announced, but they didn’t hit the mark for many and were largely a let down. With Pokémon Legends: Arceus, those hopes and dreams look to be finally becoming a reality.